An emergency room user who had been in a fight will have a nearly 60 percent chance of becoming involved in a violent incident involving a firearm within the next two years. If he does, it'll probably happen within the first six months after his ER visit, found a new study published in the journal Pediatrics by a team from the U-M Injury Center and U-M Medical School.
Researchers studied nearly 600 young men and women between the ages of 14 and 24 living in Flint, Mich. Researchers connected with the young people on their initial visit to an emergency department and then again every six months during the next two years. Young men and African-Americans of both genders were also found to be more likely to be involved in a firearm incident within two years of their initial visit.
While not all who became involved in firearm violence had a gun at the beginning of the study, those who reported having a firearm at the time of their initial ER visit were much more likely to report being involved in a subsequent violent firearm incident.
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